Monday, 19 May 2008

In a couple of weeks ITM starts another eLearning course for health care workers in the field specializing in ART (AntiRetroviral Therapy). The response for this course was overwhelming and we were booked immediately. It is actually in a pilot phase (from IT perspective, the content is already full prove from years of experience). We redesigned the face-2-face course so it meets eLearning Quality standards. The coordinator of this medical eLearning course (and main tutor) is Verena Renggli who will have a heavy task in front of her.

The course will be very interesting from an eLearning point of view because it has a good mix of participants from low resource areas (ranging from Africa to South-East Asia).

Because there are so many factors to consider while starting an eLearning course for low resource areas, we opted to build an entry questionnaire beforehand to make sure we can have a good IT-idea as well. The form is posted below with 15 questions. The form is interactive, but I only posted the written document for your interest.

If any of you use similar forms and you are willing to share, I would be very happy to compare notes.

"Dear eSCART participant

Before the start of eSCART we would like to ask you to fill in this questionnaire. It will provide us with some background information which we need for the ongoing optimizing of this course. Your feedback will also enable us to provide better technical assistance (if needed).

Please take 10 min. to answer the 20 following questions.All of these questions can have multiple answers.

Organization of your studies

1. Where do you plan to study for eSCART?0 at work, during working hours0 at work, after working hours0 at home0 in Internet café0 other place, such as

2. How often to you plan/schedule to study for eSCART?0 daily, for hours0 3-4 times per week, for hours0 1-2 times per week, for hours0 other plan:

3. Do you have the possibility to print the learning material of eSCART?0 yes, in the office 0 and/or at work 0 and/or at a shop/internet café 00 no

Technical specifications

4. What hardware do you available?0 Desktop computer0 Laptop0 Mobile devices such as PDA, cellphone with screen

Size of the screen of your computer and of all of the devices you have checked (mention in either inches or cm but indicate which one):

5. Do you have audio on your computer/laptop?0 I have speakers0 I have a microphone0 I have a headset to connect to the computer0 no, I don’t have any audio

6. How do you connect to the internet in terms of connectivity?0 broadband (ADSL, ISDN, SDSL)0 LAN0 wireless0 with modem0 other, please specify:

7. How long does it take you to open the following site (please check it before answering): http://telemedicine.itg.be?0 <1 min0 1-5 min0 5-15 min0 >15 min 0 other, please specify:

8. Is your connection to the internet assured?0 throughout the day0 interrupted on daily basis0 only assured a couple of times a week0 other, please specify:

9. How do you judge your IT-skills?0 I am familiar with writing text documents0 I am familiar with excel, powerpoint0 I can download files and save them on the computer0 I use audiovisual software (photo software, editing software…)0 I can install updates/software/plug-ins on my computer0 others, please specify:

10. What website to you visit the most frequent to search for HIV/AIDS knowledge?

11. Since how many years do you work with computers?0 <1 year0 1-5 years0 >5 years

12. Do you have experience in e-learning?0 I followed an e-learning course in the past0 I tutored an e-learning course 0 I have no experience with e-learning so far

13. What operating system (OS) do you use (depending on whether you use 1 or more computers this can be a mix of operating systems; please cross all OS you will work on, because we will provide you with plug-ins that need to be installed before using the course material)0 Windows XP0 Windows Vista0 Other windows OS (e.g., 98, 2000), please specify the version: 0 OS Mac, please specify the version: 0 Linux, please specify the version:

Your work experience

14. How many years of work experience do you have?0 <1 year0 1-5 years0 6-10 years0 >10 years

15. How many years of work experience in the field of HIV/AIDS do you have? 0 <1 year0 1-5 years0 6-10 years0 >10 years